Blair and Bush set to force UN vote over Iraq

America and Britain will table a new UN draft resolution next week authorising military force against Iraq, US officials confirmed yesterday.

Both governments intend to force a Security Council vote on the long-awaited second resolution before 14 March, the date set by France for new talks on Iraqi compliance with its disarmament obligations.

A senior Downing Street source said Tony Blair and President George Bush had discussed the details of "the when and the how" of a second resolution in a 30-minute telephone conversation on Wednesday night. "France has come up with the 14 March date. That may be a bit too far away," the source said.

Colin Powell, the American Secretary of State, told Newsnight: "I would expect in the very near future we will be putting down a resolution, more likely next week." But he said he did not think there would be an explicit reference to the use of force in the resolution or a deadline for compliance by Saddam Hussein.

The draft is expected to be tabled before Hans Blix, the UN chief weapons inspector, presents his latest report to the Council next Friday. If the 15-member Council approves a new mandate concluding that President Saddam is in "material breach" of demands to disarm, military strikes could be launched in the first week of March. A more likely date would be later in the month.

President Bush underlined his determination to confront the Iraqi President with a speech in which he declared that the liberation of Iraq would deliver "the Almighty's gift of freedom" to the world.

Talks on how to win round the Security Council were confined to a few allies including Spain. But the rift among the veto-holders remains deep. Igor Ivanov, Russia's Foreign Minister, hinted that his country would veto a second resolution, a hint backed up by Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, who told a House of Lords select committee that Kremlin advisers had warned him Vladimir Putin "will use his veto".

Two options for a resolution are thought to be under discussion. One version would give President Saddam an explicit deadline by which he must disarm, played down by General Powell. Another tactic would be for a motion authorising action – although not explicitly – to be tabled but only voted on in early March. The vote could signal the start of military action.

Jacques Chirac, the French President, secured pan-African backing at the summit in Paris yesterday for his view that UN inspectors should be given more time. That suggests more difficulty for Britain and the US at the Security Council;Guinea, Angola and Cameroon are all members and Guinea is to be Council president next month.

Last night, Mr Blix was expected to pile fresh pressure on Iraq with a letter formally asking for the destruction of its Al-Samoud 2 missiles, which have been found to exceed a 150km (93-mile) range limit set down by the UN. A refusal by Iraq to comply would be taken by London and Washington as important new evidence of its failure to co-operate.